Jesus Was No Man of Peace: The Bible Says He Was a Violent Coward

Here we go again. In his article “War and the Religious State” (Free Inquiry, February/March 2015), Steve Sklar casually acknowledged what everyone knows—or what most people think they know: “Christianity, for all its flaws, does have the positive characteristic that its alleged founder ‘was not violent.’”

It’s repeated ad nauseam: Jesus Christ was the “Prince of Peace.” Maybe he failed to denounce slavery and other primitive practices, but at least he called for brotherly love among all peoples. Therefore, the argument goes, he serves as a useful role model for all humanity, even non-Christians. Children are taught to be like Christ. Major civil rights movements have operated on the presumption that the son of God who is God desired tolerant harmony for humanity. And of course Christianity, despite its sometimes errant ways, is at its glorious core a religion of peace.